Nortel Ranger: the Minor's flame in a hand torch

The Nortel Ranger is, in effect, the Minor in a hand torch. It’s a single-stage, surface-mix burner that brings the features of the Minor bench burner into a hand-held form — the same forgiving flame and precision needle valves for fuel and oxygen — with rotating valve bodies that you can turn to suit how you hold the torch. If you like the Minor but want to bring the flame to the work rather than the work to the bench, the Ranger is that option.

What the Ranger gives you

Like the Minor, the Ranger is surface mix — fuel and oxygen meet at the face rather than premixing inside — for a clean, quiet, color-friendly flame that’s easy to read and forgiving to learn on. The precision needle valves give you fine control, and the rotating valve bodies let you orient the controls comfortably whichever way you’re holding it. For the background, see surface mix vs premix torches, and on format, bench vs hand torch.

Who the Ranger is for

This is a beginner-to-intermediate hand torch for beads and general work, well suited to someone who wants the Minor’s easy character in a portable form for off-bench and spot tasks. It’s a friendly entry point in the same spirit as the bench torches on our best beginner glass torch list — just in a hand-held configuration. It isn’t built for large boro or thick solid work; that calls for a larger bench burner.

Glass, fuel, and oxygen

The Ranger runs soft glass and small boro, burning propane or natural gas with oxygen. Nortel doesn’t publish an exact jet count or LPM figure for it, so size your oxygen supply against your work; see how many LPM does my torch need.

Where it sits in the Nortel line

The Ranger is the hand-torch counterpart to the Minor, sitting among Nortel’s hand torches alongside the surface-mix Multimix Junior and the premix Unitorch. It’s the pick when you want the small Nortel flame off the bench.

Before you buy

Budget for the whole system, not just the torch: oxygen (a concentrator or tanks), the correct propane or natural-gas regulator, flashback arrestors on both lines, didymium eyewear, and ventilation. New to plumbing a torch? Start with the fittings, hoses & connectors guide and the glass torch safety setup guide.

Editor’s note: spec details reflect Nortel’s own materials for the Ranger (its relationship to the Minor, needle valves, and rotating valve bodies). Nortel doesn’t publish the Ranger’s exact jet count, oxygen flow (LPM), or current pricing, so confirm those specifics with Nortel before purchasing.